The Fight HST campaign says they’ll launch recall campaigns Jan. 1 against three Liberal MLAs, unless the harmonized sales tax referendum is held this year.
The group is initiating "MLA Survivor Recall – Vote them off the Island," a competition among 18 ridings to see which MLAs will be targeted for recall first. The list of 18 includes Finance Minister Colin Hansen, but does not include B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell.
Campbell reacted to the announcement Monday with disdain, criticizing former B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm for trivializing a serious issue.
"I think it’s a shame Mr. Vander Zalm thinks this is a reality television program. This is a serious matter for British Columbians to consider," Campbell said. "I don’t think it’s cute and I think it really reminds everyone about what Mr. Vander Zalm’s real agenda is, which is to try to get attention for Mr. Vander Zalm."
The group says they will continue with one recall each month until either the tax is repealed or there is a new government.
Fight HST organizer Chris Delaney said the top candidates for recall are Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett, Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Ida Chong, Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake and Boundary-Similkameen MLA John Slater, because many canvassers are already registered in their ridings.
The only way the group will stop the recall process is if the HST referendum is held this year, and is based on a question drafted by Elections BC and agreed to by the Fight HST group, Vander Zalm said.
New Democratic Party leader Carole James said Monday her main concern is holding the referendum as soon as possible.
"Regardless of people’s views on the tax, everybody agrees that creating this kind of economic uncertainty in British Columbia makes no sense," James told reporters in Victoria.
"I’m really concerned about investors who are looking at British Columbia. As we all know, economic certainty is the most important thing when you’re looking at economic growth.
"People are holding off on large purchases, it’s going to impact the housing market. There’s no reason we can’t come back to the Legislature, change that legislation and get on with holding the referendum as soon as possible."
Campbell said he does not agree with requests from both Vander Zalm and James to move the HST vote earlier than next fall.
"I’ve heard from British Columbians constantly that they appreciate the fact they get an opportunity to think about this, to be deliberate about it, to consider it and then to decide and cast a ballot," he said, adding the time leading up to the vote allows people to see how the HST is affecting them directly. "I have not had any British Columbians except politicians say I’ve got to quickly move this ahead," he added.
When asked why the premier is not among the recall targets, Vander Zalm said he thinks Campbell will resign next summer.
"I don’t think he’s going to be around next September," Vander Zalm said.
Delaney acknowledged that recalling Hansen would be an uphill battle, but said the finance minister is on the list because there is a frustration among his constituents.
"People seem very betrayed by the revelations of the freedom of information release," Delaney said.
Liberal MLA Terry Lake said Monday he ‘s not worried about his own political fortunes.
"I’m always ready to stand up and defend my work as an MLA, as an elected representative," he said. "Recall – I guess I say: ‘Bring it on.’ "
Lake also criticized Vander Zalm and Delaney for trivializing a serious issue, calling them "two spoiled children who are going to jump up and down until they get their own way."
The recall competition – in a tip of the hat to the popular Survivor TV series – includes a weekly contest to see which riding can sign up the most canvassers between Sept. 27 and Nov. 15.
"Each week, the riding with the least canvassers signed up will move to the back of the line. At the end of the contest, the top three ridings with the most canvassers will win the right to conduct the first recalls under the Fight HST banner," Delaney said. "We’ve had so much interest from so many constituencies, we decided this would be the fairest way to determine who gets to go first."
The competition will determine the first three MLAs to be targeted in the recall initiative, which requires forty per cent of registered voters in a riding to sign up.
"It’s a very, very difficult threshold, more difficult than the petition," Delaney said.
If a recall is successful it would take about four months to complete, so the earliest a sitting MLA could be unseated is mid-April 2011.
tsherlock@vancouversun.com
jfowlie@vancouversun.com
The 18 MLAs whose ridings have an "MLA Survivor Recall" recruitment drive are:
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